Hey there, I'd just like to let you know, I'm quitting
today." In your deep, deep sleep, you have whispered these
words.

"I'm starting my own business, you see."

You have rehearsed this speech awake, too. In front of the
mirror. On your way to work. When you toss your meal into the
microwave. Not a day goes by when you don't fantasize about
it.

"And I realize it's customary to give two weeks notice,
but I'd like to give you the rest of the day, pretty much, and
I'd like to start working on my company tomorrow."

Wait a second. You're usually not that brazen, even in your
daydreams. Something strange is afoot. Is your daydream being
hijacked?

"What's more," that voice says, "I'd like
to discuss with you the idea of me using your offices to start my
business. You could incubate my company-let me use your conference
room, your phones, your administrative assistants. I think
that'd be a great idea, don't you?"

Actually, this is no daydream. About a year ago, Anil Aggarwal,
30, and one of his co-founders, Raymond Iglesias, 27, had a
conversation with their human resources director at LeBoeuf, Lamb,
Greene & MacCrae, a law firm in New York City.

But instead of calling for security, the HR director consulted
senior management. And they said yes. And for about two months,
Aggarwal, Iglesias and third co-founder Jonathan Weiner, 27, worked
on Fatshoe.com, an online incentives-based marketing company, in
the building leased by their employers.

The attorneys were excited by Aggarwal's concepts. Before he
moved out, Aggarwal secured $100,000 in legal services from his
employers, payment contingent upon institutional funding.

Some of Geoff Williams' earlier jobs, where what he
learned is still up for debate, include stints as a waiter, a
secretary, a bookstore clerck and a guesser at an amusement
park.

Starting Somewhere

Cary Grant's real name was Archibald Leach. Abraham Lincoln
was once a storekeeper. We all begin somewhere. And end up
somewhere else.

Stephanie Anne Kantis' end to her means is Stephanie Anne
Room to Grow, a chain of stores in Houston and Dallas where she
sells upscale furniture for newborns and children. But Kantis had a
career before she opened her stores in 1996, at a small
interior-design and furniture store in Dallas, where she worked as
the shop's marketer, all the while honing her craft. It's
not exactly shocking, then, that she went on to open her own
furniture store.

What's surprising is just how much knowledge Kantis picked
up at the job she had before that, when she was working as a sales
clerk at a department store. "I really learned how a big
department store [functions]," says Kantis, who worked in one
of the clothing departments. "I learned about opening my own
company, from the layers of management to the policy procedures to
the guidelines on how to check in merchandise."

In fact, Kantis didn't stuff the employee handbook in a
drawer or chuck it in the trash. She took it home, read it cover to
cover and took notes. She did the same with some of the sales
training manuals, too. And now she has her own employees operating
by her guidelines.

We grant you permission to practice infidelity-in a way.
"How
To Cheat On Your Boss" will slowly lead you out of your
cube and running your own business.

Learn Until The Last Day

The moment you start working for somebody else, you're
working for yourself. At least, that's one way to look at
things. "If you're going to be successful while you're
on that job, become the CEO of Y.O.U. Inc.," announces Willie
Jolley, professional motivator and writer of A Setback is a Setup for a Comeback (St.
Martin's Press). "If you're a secretary, be the best
secretary you can be," he says. "Do more than you're
paid to do, and one day you'll be paid more than you
do."

Jolley's dialogue can be dizzying, but he's right. When
you own your company, executives may remember you. If you were
great at your job, they'll probably assume your own company
reflects that. If you were a disaster at your desk . . . well,
there are other executives out there.

It was John Harris' reputation that helped him land clients
for his Cincinnati-based marketing and e-commerce firm, ViewSource
Media. Harris, 35, a former advertising executive, started his
company from home in 1996. He wasn't afraid to pick up the
phone and call clients he had worked with before. "When
you're working with clients, get to know them," advises
Harris. "When you're on your own, you can contact them-not
to steal them away, but because they know you, and they have
friends."

After
you leave your job gracefully, you get in there and you start your
business! Read "Let
Us Count The Ways" for reasons to dive in.

So when is the time right to lob that water balloon-er, to shake
your employer's hand and bid adieu? Well, first of all,
don't quit your day job until you've created your new day
job, or, at the very least, until you've started creating it.
"It's that maxim of learning on someone else's
nickel," explains Timothy S. Mescon, the dean of
entrepreneurial management at Coles College of Business at Kennesaw
State University in Kennesaw, Georgia. "As long as you can
sustain both initiatives-your current employment and the setup of
your new venture-you should juggle both as long as you
can."

When you leave, if you want to try an exit strategy similar to
Aggarwal's, remember it needs to be a fantastic deal for both
parties. And if you're determined to jump sooner than later,
don't just look at the future. "The majority of what you
do [in your future company] is not what you have a passion
for," observes Harris. "What you'll end up doing is
running the business and dealing with clients and employees."
You need to learn all that stuff sometime. Why not start now?

Shopping List

you can milk your
job for all it's worth, take a look at everything you can
aquire for your future company:

Future clients. That
doesn't mean stealing them from your current employer. But your
contacts have contacts . . .

On-the-job training.
It's free! All you have to do is work like a slave.

Funding. Hey, you're
working, right? You can save up for the lean times, in case VCs
don't flock to you.

A reputation. locally
and in the community you work in and want to serve.

Ideas. If you work at a
job even remotely similar to the business you want to start, you
can look for things you can improve upon in your own
company.

Education. Some
companies pay for employees' schooling.

Potential investors. If
not your own employer, perhaps some of those future clients would
be willing to invest in your venture.

Loose
Lips?

Here's a thought: Should you just be
honest and tell everybody that someday, you're going to have
your own company? "I was always upfront with the people I
worked for," says John Harris, CEO of ViewSource Media.
"I wasn't hiding anything. They had a need that had to be
filled, and I had the skills."

But others feel differently about spilling
the beans. Some think it depends on the relationship with your
boss.

Either way, Harris doesn't propose
wearing a sign, alerting everybody of your intentions. "I
think the biggest, most common response is, they don't really
care," says Harris. "Starting your own business might be
your goal, but that's not their goal, and a lot of times
they're thinking 'Yeah, right. Suuure you're going to
start your own company.' And a lot of times they're just
going to let it in one ear and out the
other."

Contact Sources

Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University
(770) 423-6425, fax: (770) 423-6539;